After entering the inner hall, the old emperor had a look of joy on his face. He exempted Lan An from the formalities and took his seat.
Chu Qiuze and Lan An looked at each other. They thought that today might not be as simple as greeting Concubine Wu.
"Qiu Ze, Xuan Du." The old emperor asked the eunuch to serve tea and sat down above them. "During the morning court today, the Ministry of Works handed in a memorial. Take a look at it first."
Looking at the old emperor's expression and considering the memorial from the Ministry of Works, Chu Qiu Ze and Lan An had guessed something.
I guess it’s the prescriptions Chu Qiuze provided a few days ago that have made some progress.
Sure enough, after reading the memorial, Lan An found that it was exactly as they had guessed.
The farm tools provided earlier had been developed a few days ago. After being tested on various lands in recent days, they have been improved a little bit. The most perfect ones were finally delivered yesterday.
Now we just have to wait for the emperor to approve the memorial so that we can start production, and the people will be able to use it in the spring of next year.
The recipe for steel refining has also been developed and is now being used in weapons manufacturing.
The most important point is explosives, which are weapons of mass destruction. Some people were injured during their development.
A few days ago, the barren hills outside the imperial city kept making deafening noises. That was an experiment.
Its power is indeed enough to create the world.
Such things are both a blessing and a hidden danger.
The good news is that Dahan no longer has to fear war. No matter how strong your walls are, once a bomb is thrown at them, everything will become cannon fodder.
The hidden danger is that such things must never fall into the hands of other countries.
Therefore, all personnel currently involved in the research on explosives have been protected, including their wives and children.
This arrangement is appropriate.
The old emperor was indeed very happy; he had never thought that he would be able to achieve such political achievements in his old age.
All this is thanks to Lan An for bringing this male god back. If the male god had entered another kingdom, he would have been a powerful enemy of Dahan.
Thinking of this, the old emperor couldn't help but look at Lan An twice more.
Lan An is not young anymore. He will be 31 soon. At his age, he already has several children.
In the past few years, he wanted to arrange a marriage for Lan An more than once, but Lan An refused every time. At that time, he thought that Lan An might have a hidden disease in that area as rumored.
When it comes to Lan An's male dignity, even if he is the emperor, it is not good to pay too much attention to him.
Anyway, he never expected that the younger brother whom he raised would actually be a homosexual.
If Lan An had looked for another young man from a noble family or an ordinary citizen, he would probably not agree.
The royal family's reputation is still very important, and they would never accept that the current regent marries a man as his principal wife.
But now it’s different. The Regent has found a god who can make great contributions to Dahan.
The old emperor thanked his luck more than once that he had felt compassion for the skinny blue eucalyptus when he first saw it, so he took it to his side to raise it.
Otherwise, Dahan would probably not have the Photographer, nor the Photographer's idol.
"Xuan Du has done a great job this time." The old emperor's face was full of joy. "Is there anything you want?"
The status of Blue Eucalyptus is now beyond all praise and appreciation.
It all depends on whether he has any ideas.
Lan An stood up and bowed, "My brother, I don't deserve your kindness. This is all brought by the male god, so I don't dare to take credit for it."
"That's not what I meant." The old emperor lifted his arm. "I have also heard about what happened between you and Qiu Ze. Since you two are so close, why should we separate each other? Sit down and talk."
Lan An and Chu Qiu Ze looked at each other and then sat down.
The old emperor continued, "Qiu Ze is a deity. To my shame, I really don't know what gift I should give to express my gratitude, so I can only attribute this credit to Xuan Du."
The old emperor said "gift", not "grant" or "reward", which directly showed his respect for Chu Qiu Ze.
Chu Qiuze understood that he didn't do these things for any reward anyway. He and Lan An were one, and they would prosper together.
But Lan An did not dare to take all the credit for himself. Throughout history, those who are too successful and threaten their ruler will not have a good ending.
"I understand your Majesty's intentions." Chu Qiuze saw Lan An's embarrassment, "These things are just for the people to live a good life, so your Majesty doesn't have to do this."
The old emperor nodded, very satisfied with the two men's understanding.
"Royal brother." Lan An took out a memorial from his arms, which he had written overnight.
It was the pig breeding and sweet potato planting that I had discussed with Chu Qiu Ze before.
The plans, planning, and things to pay attention to are all written in great detail in Blue Gum.
He originally wanted to take this opportunity to curry favor with the Emperor and then propose to take his mother out of the palace, but the Emperor never asked about it, and he could not bring it up at this critical juncture to avoid arousing suspicion.
It would be better to take it out first and see what the emperor says.
This is indeed a good thing. If it can be successfully implemented, every household in the near future will be able to eat meat. Moreover, there will be an additional high-yield grain. Within two years, the people of Dahan will be able to have enough food and clothing.
The smile on the old emperor's face widened a little.
"Good! Good! Good!" The old emperor exclaimed, "This is really a blessing for Dahan."
"This is the emperor's blessing." Chu Qiuze took advantage of the situation and said, "Now that things have come to this, I will not hide it from the emperor. Before I came to the mortal world, I received a mission from the Immortal King to benefit the people. However, the Immortal King did not tell me which people I should benefit. He only told me that everything is determined by fate."
Xiao En, who was forced to become an immortal: "??? As long as you are happy." He has given up on treatment.
Chu Qiuze went on to say: "But on the day I came down to earth, I was suddenly inspired by the dragon energy of Dahan, so I chose Dahan."
Things like dragon energy can only belong to the emperor.
Chu Qiuze said seriously, "I guess it was because the emperor couldn't bear to see the people suffer from drought and hunger, and he was always thinking about them, so I was able to be inspired. In this way, all this is still the emperor's credit."
Lan Euan: “…” Is it a good thing or a bad thing that my lover is so eloquent?
But the old emperor was flattered and delighted. Which emperor didn't want to be recognized by God during his reign?
"You two have made such great contributions to Dahan, but you don't want any reward." The old emperor said calmly, "I originally wanted to arrange a marriage for you two, but I was afraid that the customs of the male gods in the fairy world would be different, so I never mentioned it. Now I want to ask for your opinions first."
"Your Majesty is wise." Chu Qiuze, who had watched too many TV dramas, spoke up, "But this matter cannot be rushed. The rules for marriage in the fairy world are indeed complicated. It will take at least one or two years to prepare. It is normal for it to take ten or eight years."
Anyway, in the eyes of mortals, gods live simple lives, so it is normal to take a long time to prepare for a marriage.
The old emperor naturally thought so too. "In that case, I will not force it. I just hope that I can live a few more years so that I can drink a glass of wedding wine from the gods."
"Of course." Chu Qiuze continued, "Your Majesty's achievements have inspired the heavens. I'm afraid that in the future, there will be a chance for us to be colleagues. It's not difficult for him to attend the wedding, not difficult!"
The word "colleague" is not difficult to understand.
But there is too much information between the lines.
In short, what Chu Qiuze wanted to convey to the old emperor was that it was very likely that the emperor would ascend to become an immortal after his death.
Lan An looked blessed on the surface, but in fact he was almost laughing madly.
Everyone has to die. He has become accustomed to life and death on the battlefield and has long since become indifferent to it. Everyone will die one day.
My royal brother is not young anymore, and his health has deteriorated badly in the past few years. If it weren't for the longevity pill that Chu Qiuze gave him, the person sitting on the dragon throne would probably be the crown prince now.
The average life expectancy of the Han people was not high, and the emperor's brother was also quite old. When he passed away, it could be said that he died of old age.
There is nothing to be sad about.
The old emperor's hands were shaking slightly, but his years of experience as an emperor made him steady, and he did not lose his composure at this moment.
The old emperor calmed down while drinking tea. "I can drink the wedding wine, but Concubine Wu may not be able to wait. Do you two have other plans?"
Finally, we get down to business.
The old emperor looked at Lan An and said, "I heard yesterday that Concubine Wu was critically ill. Is this true?"
"Yes." Lan An gathered his thoughts, his face heavy, "My mother is suffering from a serious illness, the Imperial Hospital is helpless, even the God of Medicine says there is no way to save her. I'm afraid... I'm afraid she doesn't have much time left."
The old emperor seemed to be thoughtful. What Lan An said was the same as the news he had received. There shouldn't be any hidden secret.
Although he trained many secret guards and spies, he had no habit of monitoring the previous emperor and his concubines unless there were special circumstances. This was the minimum respect.
Considering their ages, he was more than 20 years older than Concubine Wu, so he had to avoid suspicion.
The old emperor knew in his heart that Lan An had absolutely no second thoughts towards him and Dahan, so it was even more impossible for him to send anyone to monitor Concubine Wu's whereabouts.
After all, as an old and ugly concubine, the old emperor really couldn't think of any other value she had except staying in the palace to check and balance Lan An.
The late emperor lived a dissolute life in his later years and left behind many concubines. It is not surprising that one or two of them died every year.
The old emperor thought of Lan An's contribution to Dahan over the years, and felt a little guilty for a moment, "Someone come."
He called over his personal eunuch and said, "Go and fetch the thousand-year-old ginseng that you got a few years ago."
"Take this ginseng to help Concubine Wu to replenish her body." The old emperor handed the box of ginseng to Lan An.
Lan An did not refuse but looked grateful. Even Chu Qiu Ze helped out, saying that the ginseng could make Concubine Wu feel better.
Judging from the condition of the two, Concubine Wu’s condition must be very serious.
"Brother." Lan An suddenly knelt down, "I have a favor to ask of you."
"Hurry up and get up. If you have anything to say, just get up and say it." The old emperor had some guesses in his mind. "Just now I asked you if you wanted anything. Now just tell me. I will allow it."
Lan An did not stand up. Now that the time was right, he made his request: "I want to take my mother back home to take care of her and fulfill my filial duty. I hope that my brother will grant my permission."
The old emperor asked some questions last night while the imperial physician was checking her pulse. It was said that Concubine Wu had damage to all her internal organs and she probably didn't have much time left.
That's a poor woman too.
Forget it. The reason Concubine Wu was kept in the palace was to check and balance Lan An. Now that she is about to leave, it is time to let her leave the palace and reunite with her son.
The old emperor had no reason to cause trouble for Lan Euan at this critical juncture.
"I agree." The old emperor helped Lan An up, "Let's have someone pack up and leave the palace today."
After the old emperor finished speaking, he gave him a lot of gold, silver, treasures, and famous and expensive tonic medicines as rewards.
Lan An heaved a sigh of relief. He brought his mother to the house and kept her under his watch. This would make their future plans safer.